On November 26, 2018, Levan Songulashvili’s art performance SYNESTHESIA took place at the Rustaveli National Theatre underground space – New Kimerioni.

In this case, art and music deliberately layers one another: through interchanging impulses at a particular space and time, artists become like one organism. The duration of the performance is just as unlimited as a final result of the creative process.

The term SYNESTHESIA or co-perception in psychology is a condition in which two or more bodily senses are coupled. For example, the first medical description of “colored hearing” was found in Germany in 1812. In the state of synesthesia one may perceive music through colours, or visualize certain objects while hearing sounds or music, feeling a taste of fruits while touching ice, etc. The phenomenon of synesthesia and co-perception of colour in hearing has not been fully examined yet. With increased scientific knowledge and public outreach, awareness of this condition is growing worldwide.

The Rustaveli Theatre renewed space, New Kimerioni, located in the lower foyer of the theater in the tunnel, grants unique significance to the project.
In 1919-1920, at the very place there was an artistic art café “Kimerioni”, which was an integral part of Georgian modernism and contributed a lot to the development of Georgian culture in general.

The venue is full of paintings and frescoes by highly acclaimed local and international painters – Lado Gudiashvili, Davit Kakabadze, Mose Toidze, Sergey Sudeikin, Sigmund Valishevski, etc.

Songulashvili’s large-scale piece created during the performance is on permanent view at the Rustaveli National Theatre hall.